Prospects Could Put Packers’ Pass Rush In Fast Lane

The Green Bay Packers need to upgrade their pass rush. In a hurry. The 2023 NFL Draft class should help.

In a superb display of speed at the NFL Scouting Combine, nine edge rusher prospects broke 4.60 seconds in their 40-yard dash. That number is made more impressive considering a number of prospects projected to go in the first two or three rounds will run their 40 at pro day, instead.

Thursday’s sprint show was led by Georgia’s Nolan Smith. With a 4.39-second clocking in the 40, he’ll be faster than just about everyone on the field other than a cornerback or receiver. His 10-yard time of 1.52 seconds and 41.5-inch vertical led the way, too. Not bad for a guy who missed the second half of the season with a torn pectoral.

“I play football. That’s why I’m here. I haven’t done anything in a long time,” Smith told reporters at the Indiana Convention Center on Wednesday. “I can’t wait to showcase my talents. Everyone thought I died and all this stuff. I turned off the mock drafts, I turned off my phone, and I picked up a book. You can’t hurt me. I just wanted to create an iron mind, a mindset that no one can hurt me.”

While Smith has been mocked to Green Bay as a first-round possibility, the Packers usually like powerhouses on the edge, so he might not fit at 6-foot-2 and 232 pounds. He’s garnered comparisons to explosive Eagles pass rusher Haason Reddick.

Here are the rest of the pass-rushing racecars.

Tennessee’s Byron Young (6-2, 250), 4.43: Seven sacks and 12 tackles for losses as a senior to earn all-SEC first-team honors. He said he models his game after Khalil Mack.

The 40 time was good but his focus was elsewhere. “Just my footwork, lateral movement, just things like that. In my drills, I feel like they're really going to be keying in on my technique, so I'm definitely prepared for that.”

Young isn’t exactly young. He’s 24, having spent a year-and-a-half working at a Dollar General before enrolling at a junior college.

Projected: Early Day 3.

Georgia’s Robert Beal (6-4, 247), 4.48: The former five-star recruit had three sacks and three tackles for losses as a senior after a career-high 6.5 sacks alongside Devonte Wyatt and Quay Walker in 2021.

Projected: Early Day 3.

Louisville’s YaYa Diaby (6-3, 263), 4.51: A breakout final season of nine sacks and 14 tackles for losses in 2022. Entering his senior year of high school, he had zero scholarship offers. Not just to the powerhouse schools. He even was ignored by FCS programs. He was 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds at the time.

Projected: Day 3.

Kansas’ Lonnie Phelps (6-2, 244), 4.55: Closed his career with back-to-back banner seasons of 8.5 sacks and 13.5 tackles for losses at Miami (Ohio) in 2021 and seven sacks and 11.5 tackles for losses with the Jayhawks in 2022.

Projected: Day 3.

Auburn’s Derick Hall (6-3, 254), 4.55: Two strong seasons with 9.5 sacks and 12.5 tackles for losses as a junior and 6.5 sacks and 11.5 tackles for losses as a senior. Two forced fumbles each season.

Projected: Early Day 3.

Iowa’s Lukas Van Ness (6-5, 272), 4.58: Wasn’t a starter but recorded 13 sacks and 19 tackles for losses in two seasons. In 2022, he was second-team all-Big Ten as a redshirt sophomore.

His physique matches his nickname of Hercules. “That came about in an interview about a year ago with one of my defensive tackles, Noah Shannon. He kind of mentioned the name in an interview and it stuck and since then/ I like to pride myself in the weight room. It's something I'd always love to do is improve your body and work hard. And it's kind of a name that stuck and it's been fun. We joke around with it. And I'm assuming it'll stick for a while to go.”

Projected: First round.

Notre Dame’s Isaiah Foskey (6-5, 264), 4.58: Big-time production with 10 sacks and six forced fumbles in 2021 and 11 sacks and 14 tackles for losses in 2022 to earn consensus All-American honors. Finished with school-record 26.5 sacks.

As he told The Draft Network at the Senior Bowl: “Everybody knows I can get to the quarterback one way or another. I want to show everybody that I can impact the quarterback in a variety of ways. I have a versatile pass-rushing arsenal. I can get to the quarterback with speed or my counter moves. That’s mostly what I’m out to showcase.”

Projected: Second round.

Appalachian State’s Nick Hampton (6-2, 236), 4.58: Fourth in school history with 26.5 career sacks. In nine games as a senior, he had seven sacks and three forced fumbles. That was on the heels of 11 sacks and 17 TFLs in 2021.

Projected: Day 3.

Also, Northwestern’s Adetomiwa Adebawore ran his 40 in 4.49 seconds. At 6-foot-2 and 282 pounds. He’ll more than likely play as a 4-3 defensive tackle in the NFL but scouts asked him to work with the edge group. He had 11.5 sacks and 23.5 tackles for losses during his final three seasons.

He said he watches a lot of Rams superstar Aaron Donald. “I would say I'm athletic enough to do some of the things he's doing and I try to implement some of his game while I am playing three-technique in terms of the pass rush.”

Iowa State’s Will McDonald, a Wisconsin native and Day 2 prospect, didn’t run a 40 but led the edge group with an 11-foot broad jump. He posted superb production in college with a whopping 34 career sacks after perhaps rubbing Wisconsin recruiters the wrong way while in high school.

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